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My NAV / Stereo system went nuts today!

Heading out at lunch today (rainy day, mid 70's). Started the car up
(01 M5) and everything was fine. I had a passenger and we were talking
so I didn't fire up the XM, the stereo was "on" in cd changer mode
(using the BlitzSafe digital adapter to switch between XM and an Alpine MP3 changer) and the NAV display was up. About 5 minutes into the trip the system started going nuts - it was as if someone were hitting all the buttons - the door opened and closed over and over (to expose the tape deck), it changed to radio, changed stations, auto stored stations, turned the display on/off, etc, etc.

Thank goodness the volume control was not affected so I didn't have my
ears blasted.

I tried to turn off the stereo and it would not respond. When stopped
at a light I turned off the car, removed the key. I had to restart in
30-45 seconds (light changed). It started doing it again, but a bit
less frequently (it seemed) and was able to turn off the stereo.

After lunch (the car sat for 30 minutes) it worked fine, and another
trip later it worked fine.

Sounds like trouble - any ideas? I am under warranty, but I am sure it will be a "can't reproduce problem" if I took it in.

Remove all non-BMW equipment

If the problem reoccurs, take it in like that. If you don't remove the other equipment, they will likely deny any warranty coverage. I'd say the symptoms are the result of the Blizsafe digital adapter. I have never seen anyone experience these symptoms on any of the M5 or X5 boards. If I were the dealer, I would suspect non-approved connections, adapters, and/or inappropriate installation.

Re: Remove all non-BMW equipment

Right now my navigation screen only has thin horizontal lines on it when it becomes activated by opening the door. The GPS and computer readings are unreadable. The must be functioning because I can see the computer screen findings on my Speedometer head. The radio works but it only stays on for three minutes when it turns off by itself. Hitting the power switch on the radio seems to reset everything and the radio turns back on for another three minutes. At no time does the screen come back on. No one has been able to help me. I've finally tried getting an entire unit from the dismantlers and it worked the same way as my original unit. When I told them this instead of sending me a new radio the mistakenly sent me the screen only. I tried the new screen in the original radio and in the new radio I received. Exact same symptoms. I'm starting to believe there's nothing wrong with the radio from the start and possibly there's something wrong with the commands to the radio.

If you have any feedback I'll gladly take it. If you don't but can steer me in the direction of someone who can help I would certainly appreciate that too.

Re: My NAV / Stereo system went nuts today!

Dennis-

You are not alone. I have a 2002 M5 with the Nav system and changer in the back. My system is NOT MODIFIED whatsoever and on a rainy day just a few days ago, my system went nuts just as you described. I can attest that the volume control worked, but that was about it. I thought the machine was going to burn out the motor that opens the face for the tape deck.

Also, my system also sometimes turns off volume after about 40 seconds, but that is a completely different problem that can be addressed by a simple cycle reset (turning the car off and then back on). According to this site, there is a service bulleting that fixes the 40 second issue (bulletin 65 03 02).

However, back to the possessed head unit. I have heard that sometimes moisture can cause these issues, and both your car and mine had issues on "wet" days. The problems have not persisted since two days ago, but a simple recycle of the system did not help. I have also heard that some electrical glitches are due to a low voltage in the battery. I'm going to check mine soon to see if that is the culpret. Frankly, I think its the moisture issue.

Has anyone else had this issue with their system before? Does this mean the head unit is on its last legs?